Ok. So you have to create a cartoon character for a liscenced game. Warner brothers or Disney characters CANNOT be used. The reason being is that liscenced games based on them are commonplace, and therefore, there would be nothing new to offer. So Batman, Superman, Donald duck, Mickey mouse, Goofy, Road runner, Daffy duck, Porky pig etc.... cannot be chosen. Ive also decided to EXCLUDE Anime as well. You cant really judge Captain caveman against Rei Ayanami from Evangelion - theyre just TOO different. Anime is in a class of its own - Sorry! This, however, does not exclude old japanese made classic cartoons that we all know and grew up with, such as Battle of the planets, Gigantor and Speed racer. Other foreign toons are allowed, providing they are reasonably well known, such as Asterix, Smurfs etc..
If you have any questions about wether your chosen character would be allowed, dont hesitate to contact me in this thread.

The general idea is to create a cartoon character that hasnt yet been made into 3D. Thousands can be chosen from sources such as Hannah Barberra, MGM, 80s nostalgia, modern cartoons and vintage (40s) cartoons.
There may be a squabble over who will make the more well known characters, but im afraid only one of each character can be made - whoever chooses first will get to make it.

RULES/GUIDELINES:

The models made must be 1500 TRIANGLES or less - including their props and accessories. Make every polygon count!

1x 256 map is allowed, and an alpha map if needed.
NO Bump, Normal or Specular maps can be used

The end result must have the material set up so that no lights affect the model at all. The only colour and illumination on your model should come from the texture map.

SUBMISSIONS:

A thread must be started in the appropriate forum so feedback and progress reports can be posted.

Your WIP thread should be named as follows:

Game Art Comp 7: (Characters name) - (Series)

Example:

Game Art Comp 7: Matt Tracker - MASK

Try to provide some reference pictures or screencaps of your selected character at the start of your post - this way, we know what the character looks like, as well as giving us something to look forward to!

DEADLINE
The contest begins as soon as you read this post. The deadline is May 20th. That gives you 20 days from the start of the competition - I feel this is more than adequate for a low polygon character with simple textures. Try to get your choices in as soon as you can, to avoid dissapointment.

On May 20th I will create a thread titled "Game Art Competition #7 Submissions" Your final images (all in the same post) should be posted in there for the judging. No one can make comments in that forum, leave that for the individual participant's threads.

JUDGING
I need 5-10 volunteers to participate as judges. If you want to be a judge, say so in this thread, the first 10 will be chosen. Once the deadline is reached, each judge will award points to the top 3 entries they like the most.
3 points for 1st
2 points for 2nd
1 point for 3rd

Judges are asked to make their decision based on mesh construction, flexibility, poly density/topology, UVW mapping, and texture painting, with a strong emphasis on the credibility and likeness of the character.

Judging will take place May 20 - 25. The Winner will be announced once all the available judges have cast their vote.

Please take into account the lower polygon count - Every polygon must be well used, and be able to deform well in a versatile rig. Its preferable that your character is rigged, but not essential. Poses are so much more expressive than the ususal 'T' pose. UV space must also be taken into account, sharp lines need a fair bit of UV space, whereas plain areas of colour take up very little. The texture map MUST emulate the look of the character, meaining very little or no shading, and all the right colours and lines. Then finished character should look identical to how we remember it to be. Cel shading and ink outlines are allowed, but not essential.
Extravagant, photo real textures with patterns and fancy shading are not encouraged.

PRIZE

The winner of this competition will get to choose the subject and terms of the next competition, as well as getting maximum respek!

Yeah, robotech is ok - it falls into the category of 80s toons - even though its japanese, its dubbed into english, and a lot of us know what it is.

cris castro

04 April 2004, 06:41 PM

is "felix the cat" ok?

AndyH

04 April 2004, 06:43 PM

Sure is. Should be good having a black & white character.

3DBB

04 April 2004, 06:49 PM

I'm reserving my spot with Dudley Do-Right

I seem to be having trouble posting a new thread, so here's my reservation untill it gets sorted.

TRyanD

04 April 2004, 10:27 PM

Awsome i should be able to do this with little embarassment >_<

TRyanD

04 April 2004, 11:39 PM

Some that i hope to see:

Someone please make carl from aqua teen hunger force :)

Ren and Stimpy stuff

Sealab 2021 stuff (make murphy in honor of his dead voice actor :()

ThunderCats

GhostBusters

Space Ghost, Birdman etc

:thumbsup:

Cant wait to see what ones people come up with i forgot >_<

Steyn

05 May 2004, 12:05 AM

Doubt anybody would be making Timmy from Fairly Odd Parents, from time to time they do hilarious 3d action shots.

RasTuS

05 May 2004, 01:33 AM

are x men and voltron ok

AndyH

05 May 2004, 01:44 AM

Yeah. Theyre ok. I was hoping not to see a million and one superhero entries, so as long as everyone doesnt follow suit and make the entire cast of X-men, im ok with it.

Somebody do powdered toast man! Hes the best superhero I know!

mb27

05 May 2004, 04:29 AM

are transformers ok? I'm thinking Optimus or Megatron

bentllama

05 May 2004, 06:01 AM

i can judge...

TRyanD

05 May 2004, 06:53 AM

Originally posted by Andy H
Somebody do powdered toast man! Hes the best superhero I know!

:buttrock:

That would rule!!

There are just so many cool ass ones to do that arnt over done already >_<

JaMo

05 May 2004, 05:34 PM

seems the restrictions are set up more toward the cartoony types. i still cant decide which one i want to do.:hmm:

Neil

05 May 2004, 09:44 PM

I will commend you on keeping it simple, by just saying 1 map. That way you're gonna be avoiding the mass confusion again. It's also unfair to judge a normal mapped character versus a non-normal mapped character.

I think i will be passing on this one though, it's just too quick after the last one and i still haven't even gone back and finished Kakikara. :/

AndyH

05 May 2004, 09:59 PM

Yeah, I thought hard about making it a single 256 map. It seems really low, but bearing in mind that a lot of a cartoon characters body is solid colour, so you can shrink the UV space down a lot.
Go ooon - you may as well enter - my Dogtanian is more than half finished and i've only spent about 6 hours on it! Its a very quick competition - thats the idea. Its so that the model can be made quickly, and if they feel the need to, they can spend the remaining time on rigging or presentation.
In a sense, im worried that some folks may find it too easy, some people who did well in the last comp havent got entries yet.

Poopinmymouth

05 May 2004, 12:54 AM

ill judge again.

AndyH

05 May 2004, 02:17 AM

Ok. you gonna enter?

dudeguy

05 May 2004, 08:47 AM

This contest is right up my alley, however I will be way too busy with work to even attempt an entry this time around.

darkwing, ducktales, chip'ndales and tailspin is Disney, so you won't be seeing them here. I'd love to see Brak.

JaMo

05 May 2004, 03:10 AM

yea no disney . maybe next contest can be only disney? i was going to do gizmo duck but oh well.

commy

05 May 2004, 04:46 AM

can we submit 2 models as a joint entry? a classic comedy duo? or do they need to be 2 seperate entrys? cus i have a due i wanna do together

AndyH

05 May 2004, 11:38 AM

Hmmm.... Thats a toughie.

Id have to say no. It wouldnt really be fair on the others if your entry had 2 characters. By all means, enter them seperately, and maybe even do one render of them together, but i'd have to say that its unfair to post 2 characters on one post.

3DBB

05 May 2004, 06:04 PM

How do I get my posts to show up in this forum

Sorry I guess I can post now.

Devised_Poly

05 May 2004, 06:52 PM

would Earthworm Jim be ok?

Devised_Poly

05 May 2004, 06:59 PM

Here is another site that has some really good cartoons

http://www.vegalleries.com/other4.html

AndyH

05 May 2004, 07:44 PM

3DBB - If theres any questions about posting problems, ask on the support forum (at the bottom of the main page) or look through the previous posts.

Devised poly - Thanks for the site. yeah, I guess Earthworm Jim would be ok. Hes not really recognised as a cartoon character, but I remember the series on TV.

TRyanD

05 May 2004, 12:25 AM

Oh forgot about disney >_<

Another i would like to see is Samuri Jack, or Aku :P Aku would be very interesting to see hehe, if someone could make him so that he could deform into diffrent forms they would win for sure lol.

Steyn

05 May 2004, 06:40 PM

Originally posted by Andy H
Hmmm.... Thats a toughie.

Id have to say no. It wouldnt really be fair on the others if your entry had 2 characters. By all means, enter them seperately, and maybe even do one render of them together, but i'd have to say that its unfair to post 2 characters on one post.

So let me get this straight, a person can enter two caharacters, as in twice the chance of winning? That's a bit unfair, isn't it? I mean, let's say hypothetically, I just finished a few hours ago with Dagget Beaver, does that mean I can use the Dagget mesh as a base for Norbert Beaver and finish him by Friday and enter him in the comp? If so, should I make a new WIP thread for Norbert or should I just continue with the Dagget thread?
BTW when will the submission page be up *hint,hint* :D

AndyH

05 May 2004, 07:13 PM

Erm.... Ive had a good think about this issue, and im gonna go against what I said earlier.
Only 1 character can be submitted. If you really want to make both of them (or already have) then I suggest you post them in the generic game forum. Then select the best of the 2 and submit that one.
Ive told commie (the guy who suggested a duo) and told him this. Sorry to be a pain to anyone, but you're right, it doesnt really seem fair that several entries can be made by the same person. Its the quality, not the quantity were after.
In the mean time, relax, work on your presentation and hang on a bit til I get the submission guidelines up. Should be sometime around the weekend.

AndyH

05 May 2004, 04:03 PM

Im sure you all know the bad news then - Ill try and get the submission thread up ASAP, and possibly extend the deadline to compensate for the lost work.
Dont give up!

AndyH

05 May 2004, 10:37 PM

The Submissions thread is up once again!

Ive decided NOT to extend the deadline. So that leaves 5 days left to finish your entry and submit (or RE-submit!) it.
Get cracking folks!
There are a LOT of entries that have been totally absent of work such as dastardly & muttley, ed bighead, powdered toast man, popeye etc. Also, Kotter's Barney Gumbel started off really well, with only 2 days work, and then stopped! Why? it only takes around 4 days to make a simple cartoon model - im hoping to see some more work soon.....

Also - Can anyone who ISNT listed on the judges list please remind me? We still need more judges.

If everyone is having a real problem re-posting or submitting their work for the 20th as a result of the server error, let me know, and I MAY knock the deadline back by 5 days or so.

Best of luck, folks!

By the way - can Bentllama please make the game comp 7 submission thread a sticky post? People need to see it!

Neil

05 May 2004, 03:57 AM

We have 6 judges. Seems sufficient to me. Normally contests are judged by like 3. Just enough to break a tie.

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 07:49 AM

I was up for judging, since the server problems that seems to have been removed though. So feel free to add me to the list :)

Dargon

05 May 2004, 01:22 PM

2 more days! Git yur entries in, peeps! :P

At this point we have more judges than entrants!

Come on!

AndyH

05 May 2004, 01:30 PM

Yup - its a bit sad really.
A lot of promising entries, that have gone unfinished for some inexplicable reason.
Im probably gonna send a message to each entrant and remind them.
Gonna ask leigh and bent for a frontpage plug as well.

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 02:07 PM

I think we'll see a lot of entries before the deadline hits. usually the most entries come in the last day/hours.

I think it would be wise for future compo's to make the submission deadline day on a sunday, since most people have to work during the week and only have time to work on these competitions in the weekend.

btw Andy: It's SuperVLIEG instead of SuperVILEG.

AndyH

05 May 2004, 02:22 PM

I see. - Ill fix it.

What is Supervlieg anyway?

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 02:39 PM

Its dutch for Superfly, heh.

AndyH

05 May 2004, 04:05 PM

Does anyone feel that the deadline should be extended til this saturday?
Give some folks time to enter? and so that the judges will have time to judge over the weekend.

Lemme know what y'all think

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 04:33 PM

Im for it. Maybe it enables more people to submit their stuff.

dudeguy

05 May 2004, 12:32 AM

I was originally going to be a judge, but with all the problems CGTalk has been having recently, I can no longer access CGTalk at home, only at work and I'm far too busy at work, plus with me going out of town for the long weekend, probably won't be around a computer, so no judging from me this time around, sorry folks, good luck to everyone though! :thumbsup:

AndyH

05 May 2004, 11:12 PM

Im gonna forget about the deadline extension - its over! let the judging commence! 20 days is more than enough for a simple low poly character.
Itd be nice if a lot more people entered, but its as if people couldnt be bothered to carry on after that data loss on the server.

Ah well, lets get it over with and see what the next comp is....
:)

Eclipse3D

05 May 2004, 11:49 PM

amen! and good luck to all the contestants :).

Buck

05 May 2004, 11:03 AM

whats with the lack of judgeing? :(

AndyH

05 May 2004, 11:19 AM

Sorry - im goin to some big bash today and wont be back til sunday afternoon - ill vote then.
As for the other judges - I dunno!

Get voting!

Steyn

05 May 2004, 04:15 PM

hear hear!

Renderman_XSI

05 May 2004, 12:57 PM

Better hurry up with the judging, its the 24th now. I'd like to enter the next contest if its interesting enough.

Lekku

05 May 2004, 08:28 PM

Judging has begun
if the pattern holds, a few refrain
3 outta 6 ain't bad.

Lekku

05 May 2004, 12:14 AM

Front Page! (http://www.cgtalk.com)

Dargon

05 May 2004, 01:56 PM

aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnd......

...it's off again.

:hmm:

AndyH

05 May 2004, 02:08 PM

Yeah, I know - I wait a month for the comp to end until I ask for a frontpage plug, and it gets bumped off in 1 day because of the start of an empty speed modelling thread that takes a few hours worth of work to complete :shrug:

Bumped off front page even before a winner is announced!

The world is unjust :cry:

I wish there would be 2 lines of thumbs for frontpage stuff - After all, a lot of people just want to view the decent stuff quickly, and a lot of good work sometimes dissapears really quickly, whereas some of the more boring features about seminars and such stay there for weeks.

Grrrr! wheres an angry smilie face when you need it!

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 02:42 PM

I dont even think it was on one full day. And its kinda ironic that its bumped by one of those speed sessions.

Dargon

05 May 2004, 02:48 PM

I say on the next comp we make real pain in the @$$es of ourselves, and bump posts in all the major forums to draw attention to our challenge.

The more we have, the more fun it gets, and if we have to go guerilla to get the notice, than so be it!!!

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 03:02 PM

Yeah yeah! Forum geurrilla!! Too bad I'll be on holiday during the next comp.

Well, after a promising start, Game comp 7 is over. Despite the great quality of the submitted images, I was dissapointed in the amount of unfinished work - there was some really impressive models taking place that were never completed in time.
As I stated when I started the competition, I wanted it to be more relaxed, with a quicker build time, lower poly count and simpler models.
I hope you've enjoyed making your favourite toons!

Kman, get in touch with me if you need to know anything about running the next competition, and best of luck!

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 09:27 AM

I liked the laid back attitude of this last comp. It was really well run to Andy. Compliments to you!

I think adding a week to the running time would make it perfect. I think a monthly compo is nice. Now lets get some ideas flowing for the next 'un!

AndyH

05 May 2004, 09:33 AM

Id like to think it was well run, but the mess ups with the dual character entry / Disney thing was badly handled, and the general lack of intrest compared to the last competition made me think that I was making it a bit TOO simple.

Not to mention the screwiness and work loss because of the cgtalk server error :shrug:

Ah well - Bring on the next one! Im itchin for some more low poly action!

Speak to us Kman!

KMan

05 May 2004, 10:29 AM

Well, as this is the first contest here that I have had time to finish, I'm glad that I'll be able to pick the next contest topic.
I am, of course, open to other ideas.

Something that would be fitting for the month of June that would be of relavence to the whole world.

I liked the idea of doing another low poly comp, as well as what was mentioned about doing some more cartoon characters.

Let me know what you all think. I'll be moving next week, so I've got most of my time devoted to packing and whatnot. I also have jury duty later this week, so the more input the better. Heh.

I've got a couple of ideas, but I'll think about them a bit more.

Renderman_XSI

05 May 2004, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by KMan
Well, as this is the first contest here that I have had time to finish, I'm glad that I'll be able to pick the next contest topic.
I am, of course, open to other ideas.

Something that would be fitting for the month of June that would be of relavence to the whole world.

I liked the idea of doing another low poly comp, as well as what was mentioned about doing some more cartoon characters.

Let me know what you all think. I'll be moving next week, so I've got most of my time devoted to packing and whatnot. I also have jury duty later this week, so the more input the better. Heh.

I've got a couple of ideas, but I'll think about them a bit more.

Well i would like enter next contest. Maybe design and model your OWN fighting character? no robots or cybrogs..just flesh and cloth,armour allowed,nothing futuristic either.

Or we can change the subject to something totally undone before, maybe model a fighting arena for a character, good example are from Soul Calibur, Tekken, DOA. You'll have to come up with expectable guides for texture and polygon count that everyone can agree on.

Or we can do both make extend the time to something like 1.5 months for completion. Or just work on the character and later on you can introduce the level design contest , but allow them to use their past character as theme and for beauty shot.

anyway, thats what I like to see for the next contest, but i'd love to hear other ideas also!!

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 12:34 PM

I like the low poly thing, But since Im not taking part in the next one i'll leave my ideas for the next one.

DaemonMagus

05 May 2004, 11:10 PM

I suggest against doing a level comp and sticking with either creature or character, there is usually a much lower turn out on level comps, and vehicles aren't too high either.

typeA

05 May 2004, 11:55 PM

lets just get it rolling again soon:buttrock:

Lukavi

05 May 2004, 01:38 AM

I like the idea of doing a fighting character, if thats the idea Im in for sure. Hopefully it wont be a contest that is too simplistic.

AndyH, since Happosai gave you teh prestigious hot dog award (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=129603&perpage=15&pagenumber=7) I think its only fair that you present one to Kman, unless CGTalk wants to make this an OFFICIAL competetion, complete with little trophy icons!

Yup with the fighting genre you can get away with more polygons/texture on a character.

It would be nice to use some of that polygon to aid in muscle compression effect thru rigging. It should give many people a chance to even come up with complex rigs to advance this genre even more.

Im in the process of learning complex rigging and would like to apply this to a fighting character. :wavey:

bentllama

05 May 2004, 05:20 AM

Originally posted by Renderman_XSI
It would be nice to use some of that polygon to aid in muscle compression effect thru rigging. It should give many people a chance to even come up with complex rigs to advance this genre even more.

if you could only see what I am developing in my limited spare time. rigging up the wazoo.

xenon gonna rokk yoo!

bentllama

05 May 2004, 05:26 AM

what about cartoony AND a fighter?

something akin to clayfighter or the old tmnt tournament fighter game...

Well if the next contest is a toon fighter..count me out, it isnt my cup of tea.
I'll leave it at that. Its still really up to Kman to pick a subject.

PS3 is gonna rock you! :bowdown:

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 07:55 AM

Ohh noooo, not clayfighter!!! Fighting game character sounds good, but the combo with cartoony. I dunno.

My little nephew is gonna rokk yoo!:buttrock:

KMan

05 May 2004, 08:21 AM

I think the fighter character will be the way to go for this next comp. Although with a higher polycount and texture sizes, I think that trying to do both a character and environment could be a bit much for just one month. Either we can extend the deadline for that, or just do the character, and if it's productive, have the following comp be it's environment.

Something that would be found in a console fighter (was going to say a single 512x512, but that's probably too much for most consoles)
Maybe even have one of those sheets be dedicated to the changing of colors for duplicate fighter matches. This way, the alpha channel is used for the coloring(used in RTS games, as an example)

Should we stick to a certain style?
I'm not too keen on the cartoon/clayfighter look, so something besides that, heh.

Dargon

05 May 2004, 09:41 AM

OK, 1st of all, only PS2 has texture limits as low as 256s, so we could do 512s, I think that would be appropriate for Xboxers and Gamecubies. (plus I far prefer painting on 512, it's my favorite size) I think 2 would be a nice change from all these ultra low challenges that have been happening lately (not just here, on most of the challenge sites)

Style? Don't limit this. We'll lose a lot of people if we say cartoony only, and we'll lose a lot if we say realistic only. We could go as far as to say weapons are only used in Super Attacks, or not at all, or some such thing - but even that is not so nessessary. It would only matter if we were planning to put them all together in a final peice, and even then it wouldn't - look at all the odd characters in Tekken!

typeA

05 May 2004, 09:46 AM

512x512 to big for most consoles??? not unless your talking about a ps1..even then for what its worth the models in doa 3 had 20,000 polys and 2 1024 texturemaps(maybe it was 1-1024 and 1-512 I dont rember).and it runs on a x box just fine theres no real reson to stick to these low poly counts and tiny tiny textures

Dargon

05 May 2004, 11:04 AM

512X512 is the biggest that the Xbox can process.

AndyH

05 May 2004, 12:25 PM

Im ok with making a fighting game character - they are the games with the most impressive characters after all.
Cos of the design phase, and the higher detail, im not sure if ill find the time to enter, but ill sure try!

dubge

05 May 2004, 12:37 PM

i'm down for that. Should be fun. I'll go for it but we'll see if i can finish.
I like kman's specs but I'd rather have the 512x512 maps.

Renderman_XSI

05 May 2004, 02:54 PM

Originally posted by typeA
512x512 to big for most consoles??? not unless your talking about a ps1..even then for what its worth the models in doa 3 had 20,000 polys and 2 1024 texturemaps(maybe it was 1-1024 and 1-512 I dont rember).and it runs on a x box just fine theres no real reson to stick to these low poly counts and tiny tiny textures

Im ok with either 1 - 1024 or 1 - 512 for this contest. Now lets finalize the specs of the contest asap.

I also agree about not limiting the contest to a specific style! Personally i'll probably do a SNK style character.

Some inspiration to draw from as far as fighting characters are concern:

http://falcoon.hp.infoseek.co.jp/gallery2.htm

AndyH

05 May 2004, 03:15 PM

Im up for the 2x 512 maps too.
Are weapons allowed? i dont really want to make mine a martial artist since my game art 5 entry was axel from streets of rage - I want to try something different. Some kind of traditional fighter. Something like seung mina from soul calibur.

By the way Neil - whats your views on this comp? you seem to be wanting a level based theme these past few comps.

Lukavi

05 May 2004, 05:26 PM

Cool, sounds like the fighting game character idea is coming through. Ill definitely be in this one, the more challenging the better! I like the idea of an original character competition because it forces people to be more creative as opposed to recreating a real person or a existing cartoon character.

Also just so you know 4000 polys for a fighting game is ok, but most (if not all) existing fighting games have twice that or more.

Supervlieg

05 May 2004, 08:53 PM

Argh!! not a fighting game character while I'm on holiday!

Oh well, I'll have to do one outside of the competition then.

Neil

05 May 2004, 02:43 AM

Originally posted by DaemonMagus
I suggest against doing a level comp and sticking with either creature or character, there is usually a much lower turn out on level comps, and vehicles aren't too high either.

Kinda hard to make that statement, when we've never had the opportunity! It's always character based, so hence only character entries.

DaemonMagus

05 May 2004, 03:16 AM

I had based my statement off of the CGChat and Polycount challenges, because from the one's I've seen barely any level challenges were submitted. I know that I wouldn't do a level challenge simply because I don't have the skill to. I like the fighting character and I'll agree with any texture size you guys choose. Don't restrict style please, especially not to cartoony, I don't have any cell shading programs and I want to try to make a relatively detailed texture.

Neil

05 May 2004, 04:32 AM

Originally posted by DaemonMagus
I had based my statement off of the CGChat and Polycount challenges, because from the one's I've seen barely any level challenges were submitted. I know that I wouldn't do a level challenge simply because I don't have the skill to. I like the fighting character and I'll agree with any texture size you guys choose. Don't restrict style please, especially not to cartoony, I don't have any cell shading programs and I want to try to make a relatively detailed texture.

I see what you mean. But i think that is the wrong attitude to use. These contests should be the motivation to try something new! Don't limit yourself to only things you can do well, how would you know if you couldn't do more?

bentllama

05 May 2004, 04:45 AM

if a fighting character, please allow normal mapping...spec, etc...

the whole shabang...big budget

typeA

05 May 2004, 04:58 AM

Originally posted by bentllama
if a fighting character, please allow normal mapping...spec, etc...

the whole shabang...big budget

sounds good to me..are you buying me zbrush?how nice of you lol:applause: :p :p :p

bentllama

05 May 2004, 06:03 AM

Originally posted by bentllama
if a fighting character, please allow normal mapping...spec, etc...

the whole shabang...big budget

new unreal engine anyone?

Dargon

05 May 2004, 09:49 AM

Originally posted by bentllama
new unreal engine anyone?

For a fighting game?

Dargon

05 May 2004, 09:54 AM

Oh yeah, and I would also strongly suggest against the level design thing. It's too big a job for a month, or even 2. To get anything resembling a background for a current gen fighter, you'd need multiple hi-res textures, and a bunch o' polys - somewhere in the neighborhood of 50k or so. This will scare off many competitors, and besides, most people just want to do characters.

It would be a fun one to keep an eye on, but not that fun to participate in.

Besides, I started an environment challenge over at Polycount, and 5 people entered, and only 1 finished. I suggest to Kman, you don't want to be responsible for the challenge nobody enters, trust me, it sucks.

I wanted to put that in my portfolio anyway so this would be great!!:bounce:

AndyH

05 May 2004, 10:20 PM

Any more info, Kman?

Any idea when the new comp starts? And is there a definate theme for it?

I need to know if its worth starting something else before doing this.

Neil

05 May 2004, 11:48 PM

another idea i had. You guys wanted something quick and fun, well why not continue with the cartoon approach, but go with either newspaper comic characters or political cartoon characters. I don'tthink i've ever really seen any political cartoon characters on here, and it would be fun, because their proportions are purposely exaggerated.

AndyH

06 June 2004, 09:42 AM

Hm... Intresting idea, but I think its a bit obscure for the majority, plus, political characters on a global forum will lead to loads of arguments breaking out. Youve seen the fuss that kicks up when someone makes a george bush or saddam model!

Dargon

06 June 2004, 09:55 AM

I personally would rather never see another copy something else challenge. It's been three in a row here, and it's getting really old. They can be fun as a change, but really, it's not going to help any of our portfolios to have yet another derivitive peice.

AndyH

06 June 2004, 10:22 AM

I agree. I actually have no low poly stuff on my website that i have designed myself - theyre all based on something else.
I wouldnt mind having a go at designing something (even though i cant draw for sh*t)

proudclod

06 June 2004, 09:00 PM

Isn't the winner supposed to come up with the next competition's topic? How about design and create a monster? Alien? Battle gear? Weapon? Mech? Well, hopefully you can use either of thse....

Lukavi

06 June 2004, 10:55 PM

Originally posted by Dargon
I personally would rather never see another copy something else challenge. It's been three in a row here, and it's getting really old. They can be fun as a change, but really, it's not going to help any of our portfolios to have yet another derivitive peice.

Im with you, I really would prefer the rest of the competitions be based on Imagination. That will always insure that everyones work will be completely uniqe and add an extra challenge to the artists as well as the judges.

JaMo

06 June 2004, 01:16 AM

how about something from mythology. mythology is cool. isnt it?

bentllama

06 June 2004, 02:58 AM

*in the voice of Ahhhnold*

KMAN...where aaaahhhre you?

typeA

06 June 2004, 03:29 AM

maybe we should set a date like if its not going by the 5th, I guess have 2nd place chose the topic...that seams better than hangin around waitin for an m.i.a kman..

DigDoug

06 June 2004, 04:04 AM

maybe we should set a date like if its not going by the 5th, I guess have 2nd place chose the topic...that seams better than hangin around waitin for an m.i.a kman..

sounds good to me, I have been interested in joining since the last one was underway and I've been checking everyday with nothing new. I'm for the idea of designing our own character, maybe like a platformer character and sidekick ala Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank. Just a thought.

AndyH

06 June 2004, 06:33 AM

I know its annoying waiting for news of the new competition when were all rearing to go, but I think its a bit rash giving the "prize" away because he aint replying. I think he said something a few pages back about him having to move house or something. Patience my son......:)

DigDoug

06 June 2004, 07:03 AM

if he's gotta move thats cool:cool:

Neil

06 June 2004, 05:39 PM

you guys are modeling fiends :)

Lekku

06 June 2004, 10:58 PM

Originally posted by typeA
maybe we should set a date like if its not going by the 5th, I guess have 2nd place chose the topic...that seams better than hangin around waitin for an m.i.a kman.. Excellent.... all I have to do is arrange an 'accident ' for AndyH, and my "PONG Game Art Competition" can commence! MWAH HAH HAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AndyH

06 June 2004, 11:01 PM

lol - excellent!

Nah - if that was the case, id give it you anyway - it seems somewhat unfair that i host the next comp, whatever the circumstances. Jus give Kman some time. I think hes moving house or summat.

typeA

06 June 2004, 11:04 PM

so it shal be,..ill take out andyH with a high powered rifle..and the "PONG Game Art Competition" shall comence..Id rather have an "ascii art game art challenge"so lets rig the votes so my pong wins.

Renderman_XSI

06 June 2004, 12:11 AM

Originally posted by Andy H

. Jus give Kman some time. I think hes moving house or summat.

In that case, kman take as long as you want. ;) I need some time to learn Mirai for this contest.

TRyanD

06 June 2004, 10:30 AM

Dont really have to just have the one game comp going on though do we?

Why not make a few diffrent ones, like a Map art comp, for makeing in game map objects. Or like a vehicle one, since this ones mainly chars anyway. Weapons :)

Id like to see some small comps for learning to texture myself, someone make like a arm, with uv's etc and let us noob skinners go at it, and maybee have some of the pros make soem and guide us on a how too :P Those would be more of challanges than comps though i guess :O

:thumbsup:

Dargon

06 June 2004, 10:54 AM

They're all supposed to be challenges rather than comps, really. That's why grand prize is recognition, and coming up with the next challenge. If it were a comp, then the grand prize would have to be a real prize - much like the official challenge...

I think this is a worthy idea, why not start one in a thread, like the 128 thread over at CGChat?

128 (http://www.cgchat.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18643)

Neil

06 June 2004, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by TRyanD
Dont really have to just have the one game comp going on though do we?

Why not make a few diffrent ones, like a Map art comp, for makeing in game map objects. Or like a vehicle one, since this ones mainly chars anyway. Weapons :)

Id like to see some small comps for learning to texture myself, someone make like a arm, with uv's etc and let us noob skinners go at it, and maybee have some of the pros make soem and guide us on a how too :P Those would be more of challanges than comps though i guess :O

Well with the overall low (lower) turn out on each contest we have here, starting multiple contests would most likely only have even less entries in each.

Lukavi

06 June 2004, 05:06 PM

I think the contest turnout is based on level of interest. If its an interesting contest to the potential entree they will enter and finish. If its not so interesting they may enter and not finish, and if its not interesting at all they probably wont enter at all. At least thats how I am, Im sure others are too.
Also I noticed the number of replies and views is a lot lower this time around but Im thinking that is because this isnt on the main game wip forum anymore. So I guess there is a negative to having the comp in a seperate section, less people are likely to check this section out.

Dargon

06 June 2004, 05:13 PM

I also think the last one had such low viewership was due to the site being down so often during it. Perhaps the next one will fare better.

I do think we should promote it a bunch more, though. A daily bumped thread in the Game Art section, an every 2nd day bumped thread in General Disscussions and News, whatever it takes....

Neil

06 June 2004, 06:13 PM

Originally posted by Lukavi
I think the contest turnout is based on level of interest. If its an interesting contest to the potential entree they will enter and finish. If its not so interesting they may enter and not finish, and if its not interesting at all they probably wont enter at all. At least thats how I am, Im sure others are too.
Also I noticed the number of replies and views is a lot lower this time around but Im thinking that is because this isnt on the main game wip forum anymore. So I guess there is a negative to having the comp in a seperate section, less people are likely to check this section out.

well there wasn't a lack of interest. there were plenty that were started. not many get finished. as usual.
and yeah, overall viewership is down a bit. maybe n00bs that visit cgtalk don't notice that the link on the top of the game section is breakout to a whole another section.

Lekku

06 June 2004, 07:51 PM

What if the Game Art WIP thread had a similar format to the front page, with image links to the most recent contest, and other cool posts?

bentllama

06 June 2004, 08:34 PM

Front page exposure might help.
I will be plugging the next challenge before, frequently during, and after it is done.

Lukavi

06 June 2004, 09:54 PM

Originally posted by Lekku
What if the Game Art WIP thread had a similar format to the front page, with image links to the most recent contest, and other cool posts?

Thats a really nice idea. However if they did that they would have to do it for every forum to be fair. So I doubt it would be something that would or could happen.

Originally posted by bentllama
Front page exposure might help.
I will be plugging the next challenge before, frequently during, and after it is done.

Thats good to know, I hope the next round is much more successful as a result of this.

Lekku

06 June 2004, 10:02 PM

I think that it would require admins to constantly maintain the pages, or have the pages auto-update based on replies to the thread, and member votes. Also, as far as all the forums, being alike, I'd like to see it on every forum. If not all wanted to, however, I think it's simply a matter of which moderators are willing to. Speaking of which, do we need additional moderators in this forum. I know Bobo's been really busy, lately.

bentllama

06 June 2004, 03:21 AM

Originally posted by Lekku
I think that it would require admins to constantly maintain the pages, or have the pages auto-update based on replies to the thread, and member votes. Also, as far as all the forums, being alike, I'd like to see it on every forum. If not all wanted to, however, I think it's simply a matter of which moderators are willing to. Speaking of which, do we need additional moderators in this forum. I know Bobo's been really busy, lately.

bobo and I have both been very busy...

...I have been looking at some of the exceptional contributers of this forum and have yet to ask the person[s] to help moderate...since the person[s] practically live here, I hope they may help...

AndyH

06 June 2004, 08:12 AM

If you're looking for another moderator, Id suggest Neil! Hes always around and giving advice.

That, is of course, if he wants lots of disgruntled cg folk nagging for stuff everyday :scream:

Lekku

06 June 2004, 09:34 PM

WHA-HA! It's like the DRAFT! You will be called to serve!

bentllama

06 June 2004, 03:39 AM

tick tock tick tock

Dargon

06 June 2004, 01:04 PM

I had an idea for a little mini-challenge - if you guys (especially kman) are OK with it, I thought I might post it.

One thread only - no individual working threads, just all in one.

1-2 weeks long. Call it a week, but if it keeps going, so be it. No end date, no prize, just some modeling fun, and hopefully learning.

I thought as the point of these comps is to learn a bit, it might do well to have a normal mapping challenge, to get people interested in learning how to do this technique, in an easy fashion.

I'm thinking along the lines of a base object limit of around 50-100 tris, modeling whatever you want, but call it props. This means celphones, guns, fire hydrants, whatever. Finished objects don't have to be textured, just normal mapped. It also could serve as a Q&A to help people out with doing them

Whaddya guys think? If there's some positive feedback, I'll go ahead and start the thread, and start wasting some time while we wait for Kman... ;)

Lekku

06 June 2004, 02:49 PM

Sounds cool, but first, I think we'd need a tutorial posted. I've messed with it a little, but I'm looking for a better tool. for MAX.

bentllama

06 June 2004, 03:03 PM

Originally posted by Dargon
I had an idea for a little mini-challenge - if you guys (especially kman) are OK with it, I thought I might post it.

One thread only - no individual working threads, just all in one.

1-2 weeks long. Call it a week, but if it keeps going, so be it. No end date, no prize, just some modeling fun, and hopefully learning.

I thought as the point of these comps is to learn a bit, it might do well to have a normal mapping challenge, to get people interested in learning how to do this technique, in an easy fashion.

I'm thinking along the lines of a base object limit of around 50-100 tris, modeling whatever you want, but call it props. This means celphones, guns, fire hydrants, whatever. Finished objects don't have to be textured, just normal mapped. It also could serve as a Q&A to help people out with doing them

Whaddya guys think? If there's some positive feedback, I'll go ahead and start the thread, and start wasting some time while we wait for Kman... ;)

sounds like a fun idea...there is a pretty extensive Normal Mapping thread in the regular Game Art section here...

Dargon

06 June 2004, 10:46 PM

OK, I will then -

And I have!!!

HERE (http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=147707)

Neil

06 June 2004, 10:52 PM

andy: haha I can only imagine. Well thanks for the show of confidence!

TRyanD

06 June 2004, 02:25 AM

Awsome idea dargon :thumbsup: ive wondered about that and ill eventually get in there and give it a try myself :)

I think the lack of entries has more to do with skill imo, and free time, most the entries are always good. There are probably alot more people, like me, who would enter if we were better. I cant texture for crap.... so i usually dont finish things off, which is why id like to see some mini comps/challenges to help people like me get into texturing, there are lotsa tuts but actually seeing a pros wip and seeing them explain why they do this or that helps alot more.

I hope the mini comps take off and do well, cause id definalty like to see some that focus on texturing (humanoid arm, head etc).

Renderman_XSI

06 June 2004, 03:27 PM

I wonder if Kman is still alive :surprised
maybe he is on vacation in hawaii :wavey:

so i guess i'll enter the normal mapping mini contest :scream:

hurry back Kman, we need to get this contest rowing again!!

typeA

06 June 2004, 06:59 PM

Originally posted by typeA
maybe we should set a date like if its not going by the 5th, I guess have 2nd place chose the topic...that seams better than hangin around waitin for an m.i.a kman..
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

KMan

06 June 2004, 11:40 AM

Well, I've thought about the challenge a bit, and doing a fighter character doesn't really strike me as interesting, so I'd want to pass on setting this shindig up. I'd be down for judging, but I wouldn't have the time to spend organizing something that I have little interest in.
No offense, I just feel that this genre has been done to death. I can't see anything innovative coming out of fighters, everything has been done already.
All this contest would involve is a mid-poly character model. How hard is that?

AndyH

06 June 2004, 11:48 AM

ok lekku - do us proud!

Renderman_XSI

06 June 2004, 12:03 PM

Originally posted by KMan
Well, I've thought about the challenge a bit, and doing a fighter character doesn't really strike me as interesting, so I'd want to pass on setting this shindig up. I'd be down for judging, but I wouldn't have the time to spend organizing something that I have little interest in.
No offense, I just feel that this genre has been done to death. I can't see anything innovative coming out of fighters, everything has been done already.
All this contest would involve is a mid-poly character model. How hard is that?

So whats the plan? Im lost. I still would like the fighting character contest, for the sake of learning to model something that is higher poly count. and for learning maybe some rigging, texturing in Mirai. In anycase its up to you to pick the next contest subject, just pick a good one were everyone would enjoy and want .

What else did you have in mind?? im all ears.

DaemonMagus

06 June 2004, 05:30 PM

No offense, I just feel that this genre has been done to death. I can't see anything innovative coming out of fighters, everything has been done already.

I suppose that's true if you stick with normal humans wearing clothing for wrestling, karate, or working out, but what about other designs. You could always have stuff like some of the Soul Calibur characters or Yoshimitsu. We could do sci-fi fighers, fantasy, horror, historical. Free your mind...

tpe

06 June 2004, 07:39 PM

If we can all put our 2 penneth in then as long as it is fun and not a progect that would make deadlines slip then its goint to be a winner (something reasonably open, eg a chimera in a genera of our choice? taking film noir and putting it in the 22 century, war and peace in one character one head whatever, err these are not necessarily serious subjects, just trying to think of something that lets people use their imagination).

#7 was so good because it was not too much work (didnt include tonnes of polygones and multiple giant textures or too many characters) it had a strong subject that wasn't too likly to prevent people from taking part (as would model solid snake how he should be in version 5 blah blah bla). Whatever i am looking forward to the subject matter and trust it is going to be a good one, and then getting started :)

tpe

Lekku

06 June 2004, 05:11 AM

Mwha ha HA!!!!! With Kman stepping down, and AndyH deferring, I guess I'm doing the next comp! Cower in fear!!! I've got a topic lined up, but first I would like to know - When would everyone like to start? Immediately? Wait, a bit?

typeA

06 June 2004, 05:19 AM

Originally posted by Lekku
Mwha ha HA!!!!! With Kman stepping down, and AndyH deferring, I guess I'm doing the next comp! Cower in fear!!! I've got a topic lined up, but first I would like to know - When would everyone like to start? Immediately? Wait, a bit?

lets do it....

pnyx

06 June 2004, 08:26 AM

Originally posted by Lekku
Immediately? Wait, a bit?
immediately!!!! :applause::applause::applause:

Lukavi

06 June 2004, 08:37 AM

Lets get this show on the road Ive waited long enuff!

Renderman_XSI

06 June 2004, 11:52 AM

Originally posted by Lekku
Mwha ha HA!!!!! With Kman stepping down, and AndyH deferring, I guess I'm doing the next comp! Cower in fear!!! I've got a topic lined up, but first I would like to know - When would everyone like to start? Immediately? Wait, a bit?

No no, lets wait one month when Mirai 1.5 ships, jking.

lets get start right away! BTW what is the topic? make it a good one.

Bigglzee

06 June 2004, 12:07 PM

straight away for sure :beer:

I reckon zombies and mutations would be good, a good way to show off different types of textures and modeling, and people could go wild...:bounce: :buttrock: :wip:

DaemonMagus

06 June 2004, 03:45 PM

I think we should start 5 seconds ago.

Bigglzee

06 June 2004, 12:07 AM

Damnit, the "5 seconds ago" button isnt working........soo, when do we get to start:drool: how about I try the button again:wavey: no? well then, maybe we should hire someone to stick lekku :wip:

Im just talking to myself again, LETS GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!

Renderman_XSI

06 June 2004, 12:14 AM

Lekku must be on vacation also :p

Indeed lets get this show on the road, i want to flex my Mirai muscle :beer: :wavey:

typeA

06 June 2004, 03:34 AM

Lekku your a C-tease...C is for challenge

Bigglzee

06 June 2004, 04:43 AM

C stands for COMEON ALREADY!:buttrock:

Lekku

06 June 2004, 01:33 PM

Sorry 'bout the wait everyone....... I was sleeping all during Sunday. Just got done with a major project.

Anyway, I'll put up a thread today for the next cmop. And the topic is.......

Supervillains. Yeah, it's similar to the movie character, but I think Neil was the only one to do a bad guy (I guess Ichi was a bad guy.) Anyway, this can be from a movie, or comic, but make sure it just cries out "BAD!" Things like Darth Vader, or Tim Curry's devil-guy in LEGEND. I'm thinking a 3000 tri limit, and a texture cap of 1024x1024. This is as of yet unofficial, and I'll wait for some feedback before making the thread.

Dargon

06 June 2004, 01:39 PM

You thinkin' re-do's, faithful recreations, or all-together new villains?

I.E. - Are we making stuff up, or just copying again?

Lekku

06 June 2004, 02:13 PM

Anything you want. Using movie/comic villains is just a base to work from, and it shows if you can faithfully reproduce the character. As long as you provide reference images in your WIP and submission, it doesn't matter if it is original or not.

Renderman_XSI

06 June 2004, 09:23 PM

Can i create a bad guy from a video game?

there is this one bad guy from ZOE2..would be awesome to model in 3D!!! There isnt any 3D model of him to use as reference pic , only 2D reference images.

Bigglzee

06 June 2004, 11:19 PM

Thanks Lekku, this should be fun:bounce:

Lukavi

06 June 2004, 01:04 AM

Cool I really like this idea. Can you possibly up the poly count Lekku, maybe 4000 or more.

Lekku

06 June 2004, 01:35 AM

I'm gonna go with 3K on this one. I think it's enough, while still keeping it interesting.

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